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History, almost everywhere, is bound up with religion. This is particularly true of the village of Luss on the shores of Loch Lomond which is associated particularly with Saint Kessog for whom there have been claims to be Patron Saint of Scotland. He was a martyr having been executed at Luss sometime between 520 and 530 at Bandray Bay just south of Aldochlay which in turn is just south of Luss.

Regular readers will know my views on religion in general so no need to go back into all that (apart from a few references below!).

I am fascinated by the history surrounding it though and having parked my vehicle in Glen Luss this morning I took a walk down to the village beside the River Luss via an old slate quarry. I have lived within a few miles of this location for most of my life but today was my first time in this particular area.

As I approached the village, I saw signs for the Glebe and the St Kessog’s Trail, which I followed. it led me into a field where there were several (many) little plates with vignettes of the history of St Kessog. I didn’t have my camera, so phone shots will have to suffice:

It was doing really well until the last bit!

If you’ve read the above link to St Kessog, then you’ll have read the story of him swimming in Ireland with some fellow Princes who drowned but the power of prayer brought them back to life. All complete fairytale of course, folklore but there are seemingly sane, intelligent people that believe this stuff.

Strange isn’t it that these miracles are all unverifiable? All taking place in a time when word of mouth by holy men was……er gospel!

Anyhoo, at the Glebe there is a rather impressive Celtic style wooden and glass cross, erected last year to commemorate St Kessog and celebrate 15 centuries of Christianity on Loch Lomond

Once a tree......

St Kessog’s church was on the island of Inchtavannach which I’ve written about several times.

After the Glebe I wandered down by Luss Parish Church

And then to the shore and pier.

A fantastic walk and only about an hour and a half in total. You can access it from Glen Luss and follow signs for the quarry or from the village itself and go the other way round.

As for the name of Luss, one theory is that as the Christians settled, displacing the Druid population, they saw themselves as bringing the village “into the light” and thus named the village Lux which is the Latin word for light. It later became Luss.

And talking of light, I was quite pleased with the photographic results, courtesy of Nokia!